His attack on Christianity caused several opponents to publish pamphlets against him. Gibbon defended his work with the 1779 publication of, A Vindication ... of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.[4] In the mid-twentieth century one author said that "church historians allow the substantial justness of [Gibbon's] main positions".[5]

↑Gibbon's birthday is 27 April 1737 of the old style (O.S.) Julian calendar; England adopted the new style (N.S.) Gregorian calendar in 1752, and thereafter Gibbon's birthday was celebrated on 8 May 1737 N.S.

↑The most recent edition, in three volumes, is that of David Womersley. For commentary on Gibbon's irony and insistence on primary sources, see Womersley, "Introduction". Gibbon's caustic view of Christianity is in chapters XV and XVI, and Gibbon rarely neglects to note its influence in the later volumes of the Decline and Fall.